Monday, April 22, 2013
Michelle DeFrank, 30, Frankfort, was arrested for robbing a liquor store in 2010 in New Lenox. That's best thing that could have happened to her.
A recent Will County Drug Court graduate, 30-year-old Michelle DeFrank, of Frankfort, reflects on her addiction and the life-threatening journey she took to kick the habit. What started out as occasionally smoking marijuana in high school grew into snorting cocaine and then injecting heroin, the Sun-Times Media reports. With an out-of-control habit that led her to stealing from family and friends to pay for a fix came to in 2010 when she was arrested for robbing liquor store by New Lenox Police. With the news that her drug-addicted boyfriend had died, DeFrank said she learned to recognize that she was on a downward spiral. Read more about her hardcore commitment to staying sober and helping others in the Sun-Times Media. Readers might …
Thursday, October 11, 2012
New Lenox Police Chief Bob Sterba tells the community saving a life may mean "ratting out" family or friends.
A recent symposium on heroin called Will County HELPS (Heroin Education Leadership Prevention) drew a crowd of more than 450 people at Lincoln-Way Central High School. It also gave New Lenox Police Chief Bob Sterba a chance to share his philosophy on the issue. For some people, the criminal justice arena—arrest, trial and jail time—is the only way they're going to overcome this deadly trap. Others benefit from treatment that provides counseling and coping mechanisms. Regardless of the path toward rehabilitation, heroin is a sure path toward destruction, he said. "Heroin is in a class by itself. "It differentiates itself from other drugs in that it literally steals your soul." In the past year, at least three teenagers from New Lenox have …
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
As part of the Will County HELPS symposium on heroin, State's Attorney James Glasgow addressed a packed house talking about the proven success of Drug Court.
Normally the Little Theater at Lincoln-Way Central High School is full of parents, grandparents and friends watching on-stage student performances. On one particular evening, the regular crowd filed in and sat down as usual. This time, however, it wasn't about applauding achievements. It was about preventing tragedy and saving lives. On Sept. 27, the Will County HELPS symposium on heroin packed the house with community members desperately seeking information about the drug that in decades past was associated with the dangerous margins of society and how it's become trendy and chic. It's the new heroin; it's more potent, cheap, easily accessible and flourishing as an underground capitalistic market that's driven by gangs. Will County State'…
Monday, October 1, 2012
Will County Coroner Patrick O'Neil calls his office, the last stop on the line.
A panelist at the Will County HELPS symposium on heroin use Sept. 27 at Lincoln-Way Central High School, Will County Coroner Patrick O'Neil told a packed house when it comes to heroin, there are outcomes: The reason for such a surge in the popularity of heroin use, he said, is purity and ease in preparation. "You don't have to cook it." It's not boiled on a spoon before its injected, he said. Readers might also care to read about the focus on prevention. Apparently heroin has managed to kick a reputation earned in decades past as a drug associated with a lifestyle lived on the margins of society. Today heroin is characterized as trendy. And that's exactly the image that the gangs want to promote. If trendy and upscale don't hook enough …
Sunday, September 30, 2012
At only $8-to-$10 for a hit of heroin, teens are getting addicted fast and finding themselves in front of a stern judge who's looking to save their lives.
Will County Circuit Judge Ray Nash doesn't mind being considered tough or rough in the eyes of those who come before him on a heroin related charge. Nash joined a panel discussion Sept. 27 at Will County HELPS symposium on heroin at Lincoln-Way Central High School. He told a crowd of 450-plus that he will do everything in his power to beat back the silent killer, heroin, from robbing the current generation of teens and young adults of productive lives. Heroin is no longer a drug reserved for the back alley; it's accessible and plentiful in the suburbs. A former prosecutor for the Will County State's Attorney Jim Glasgow's Office, Nash took the lead as chief of the gang crimes division some 25 years ago. In those days, "we were behind" on …
Alex
2:52 pm on Tuesday, April 23, 2013
"At one point, Michelle stripped all of the copper plumbing from her own house and filled buckets at the water main in her crawlspace for washing and bathing." that must be some really strong stuff to make you do that. more ›